(Minghui.org) I recently came across an article titled “Shen Yun Needed Publicity.” Without deep knowledge of Shen Yun or Falun Gong, the authors took things out of context and jumped to conclusions to mislead readers. Nonetheless, I do agree with the article’s title–yes, more people need to know about Shen Yun.

Why? As many of us know, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has systematically wiped out this culture over the past several decades through a series of ruthless political campaigns, even many Chinese people do not know what authentic Chinese culture is. Likewise, Western society often links Chinese art with works produced by the CCP that are imbued with communist ideology.

Without raising awareness, how could Shen Yun–a new product from a minority group–reach so many countries and come to be embraced by so many audience members in the short time since its founding? I think these efforts and achievements should be praised and honored instead of attacked.

Of course, the performance also delivers messages rooted in the spiritual teachings of Falun Gong, including dance stories that show the beauty and power of Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. While the author of the aforementioned article did not appreciate the inclusion of these messages, many audience members find them valuable and uplifting, as their feedback below clearly shows.

Atlanta: “As Near to Perfect as a Human Being Can Imagine”

On the evening of December 23, 2024, Shen Yun started its 2025 tour with performances in both Nagoya, Japan and Atlanta, Georgia in the U.S. A vice president at an international media company said Shen Yun has become his family tradition. A Chinese engineer praised Shen Yun for “helping us to be better people.”

Atlanta City Council member Michael Julian Bond, who attended the opening night, said the mission of Shen Yun holds to what Atlanta values and that the performance is the highest expression “of demonstrating through art, through music, through performance, the beauty of what’s in our hearts and mankind.”

Bond said he was personally moved. “I believe that it’s an expression physically through the choreography, physically through the performance of the music, physically through the demonstration and performance as a voice, trying to demonstrate and ascend beyond the regular human experience,” he said.

“Every part of this performance was as near to perfect as a human being can imagine,” Bond continued. “It was a very, very, very tremendous experience.”

He also presented the artists with a proclamation on behalf of the city council. “You know, proclamations from the city of Atlanta are the highest awards that the city can present to a person, a place, or an event,” Bond added. “This fits the bill.”

Japan: Miniature of China’s Thousands of Years of History and Culture

Hibi Hideharu, a professor at Nagoya University’s Graduate School of Medicine, watched the show across the ocean in Nagoya on the same day. “I could see how the cultures of China’s many ethnic groups are woven together. The program gave me a vivid sense of China’s thousands of years of history and cultural depth,” he remarked.

He also found melodies from the live orchestra mesmerizing. “The music tonight was truly healing for the body and mind. Music has the ability to harmonize and balance the body internally, and this aligns with the unique perspective of Eastern medicine,” added the professor, who has practiced medicine for 30 years.

Mitsunori Kato, the president of an architectural design firm, was particularly impressed by the technical proficiency of the dancers. “What amazed me most was how the dancers landed in complete silence. It was as though they were weightless, like the wind,” he said. “Gymnasts usually make a ‘thud’ sound when they land spins or jumps, but the Shen Yun dancers made no sound when walking or landing—this was really incredible.”

Together with cultural and spiritual values of the performance, he said one cannot miss this performance. “If you miss Shen Yun, you will regret it for the rest of your life,” he said.

Canadian MP: Beautiful and “Just So Awesome”

Watching Shen Yun has become a tradition for some Ottawa families, and some entrepreneurs have also given Shen Yun tickets as gifts to their employees. Marilyn Gladu, a Conservative Member of Parliament and member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, watched a Shen Yun performance and found the enriching display of traditional Chinese culture to be a source of pride for the Chinese people.

“It was beautiful and just so awesome. The costumes and the colors and the culture—really nice,” she said. “There are so many good stories. There was a magical fish, and there was the restaurant, and all the different acts. I think it’s very clever how they put all of those things together.”

Ms. Gladu especially enjoyed the finale, “Grand Perfection,” illustrating the Divine rescuing mankind from disaster. This piece echoed Shen Yun’s opening performance, consistent the ancient Chinese belief in the Creator descending to the world to save humanity.

“What really spoke to me was, I did not know about the history of thinking that we came from the Divine, and seeing that the people were going back there. It was very interesting,” she said. “I think it’s great to see a performance that is honoring God.”

A New Tradition

Shen Yun has been performing for 19 years, and watching Shen Yun performances has become a new tradition in my family. The themes, stage design, costumes, colors, lyrics, and dance techniques are always so amazing, and they keep my family and friends entertained during the annual Christmas, New Year, and Chinese New Year holidays.

Furthermore, this new tradition of watching Shen Yun provides education, relaxation, inspiration, and even spiritual enlightenment. For example, the program of Devotion depicts how a young woman waited for her husband for 18 years. It is not only the loyalty and sincerity of young people’s love but also the sincerity full of kindness and tenacity. There are many such touching stories that shows us traditional values of kindness and virtue.

Building a Better Society

Shen Yun devotes many of its programs to showing the connection between heaven, earth, and mankind–an understanding inherent to traditional Chinese culture. Despite the CCP’s systematic destruction of these values, this concept lives on in Falun Gong practitioners, who strive to be better people in their daily lives even amid adversities. Without this modern-day chapter, we would not know how the essence of traditional Chinese culture could be passed down from history to today, let alone into the future.

I think Shen Yun’s underlying message is much needed in today’s society. As the CCP continues to push its communist agenda worldwide through economic influence, technology, news media, and social media, the free world is in danger of losing its fundamental values.

The peaceful nature of Falun Gong, the resilience that practitioners have demonstrated in the past 25 years of persecution by the CCP, and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance can reunite us and inspire the world to embrace humanity, cherish virtue, and find hope.

But this will not happen without real effort. As CCP agents send bomb threats to theaters where Shen Yun performs, tamper with Shen Yun vehicles, and co-opt Western media to discredit Shen Yun, it means the CCP finds Shen Yun and the traditional values it presents to be important–something that would undermine the regime’s plan to spread its ideology globally.

Shen Yun has played an invaluable role in rekindling faith in the divine, helping people find hope, and inspiring them to be kinder and to live by higher values. It would be great if more people can come to know Shen Yun.